First flat-pack homes springing up in Britain

0 Comments | AFP, September, 2007

LONDON (AFP) — Building has started on a first batch of low-cost, flat-pack homes -- a Swedish design to ease the housing crunch -- in Britain, which is in the grip of a chronic shortage of affordable housing amid rising prices and immigration.

The homes being constructed in Gateshead, part of the greater Newcastle area in north-east England, are designed to be space-saving, functional and high quality homes within the reach of first-time buyers already living in the area but squeezed out of the soaring property market.

The "BoKlok" concept, which roughly translated means "live smart," was created in 1996 by the Swedish furniture giant IKEA and the construction firm Skanska to combat the lack of affordable housing in their native country.

From 2002, it...